Fallout
by Mr. Chaos
Summary: Sequel to 'Lies My Partner Told Me'. Richard Castle aka Dr. Hank Pym and Kate Beckett deal with the aftermath of Castle joining the Avengers and Beckett getting blasted by the Tesseract. Alexis cleans up the city while Steve 'Captain America' Rogers relearns his new home. Ryan and Esposito are drafted into a new squad. And Tony and Pepper search for the truth about Coulson.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Notes: Two things- 1) Make sure to check out my other insane Castle story, Crimes in the Long Grass. It's Castle with Pokemon!  
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_Second, please remember that reviews feed the writing monster who stands behind me and whips me till I post new chapters.  
_

_~MC~MC~MC~  
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_Atlantic Coast, 2 hours south of New York City- May 28th, 2012_

Fury had said there would be no funeral. Tony Stark wasn't shocked. To Fury to die in battle, defending your country, was the greatest death a man could have. There was no time to have a funeral, not with the clean up in New York and SHIELD attempting to recover. So many others had lost their lives, so why single out one man. Phill wouldn't have wanted a funeral.

Tony heard every cliche and trope Fury threw out, then calmly told him that he would be holding a funeral and Fury was not welcomed.

There were those that had good reasons not to attend. Black Widow and Hawkeye had already been sent off on a new mission. No rest for the weary or the paid killers. Maria Hill was still recovering from the beatdown she'd received after the battle and Stark wouldn't have let her pass the gate even if she had shown up. Thor had to take his brother to be judged by his father, so wasn't even on Earth. Of course, Thor had told them that they shouldn't mourn, because Coulson would be in Valhalla, feasting on roast boar and regaling the fallen warriors with his stories of glory. Banner had slipped away, not liking crowds and feeling the need to return to his lonely travels.

Still, the funeral party hadn't been empty. Pepper had sat beside him, sniffing in her tissue and wishing she knew how to contact that cellist; she only knew her name was Wanda and she had a brother. Steve Rogers sat in his military uniform; not his original one, which had been lost to time, but a modern one, showing his rank of Captain.

Richard Castle (or Dr. Hank Pym as he once had been known) and his family rounded out the small Detective Kate Beckett had refused to listen to any suggestions that she not attend due to her injuries. Looking at her now, Stark had to admit she never looked better. Hard to believe that she had been caught in an alien explosion not 2 weeks ago.

Martha Rogers was the only SHIELD agent to attend, but Stark didn't count her as one of their numbers. Martha was one of them, behaving like a real person and not like a machine. Besides, after the beating she had given to Maria Tony wasn't about to tell her no. Alexis Castle sat by, the woman she was to be and the girl she was leaving behind evident. She reminded him of Pepper in a lot of ways and Stark made a mental note of asking the young woman if she would like a job. If she were half as smart of Castle/Pym, she could go far at Stark Industries.

It had been a solemn affair, with a few token words and a silent prayer at the beach. Then they'd all marched to seaside villa Stark had rented and changed out of their mourning black and donned more festive gear.

"To Phil Coulson!" Stark called out, raising his glass. "May he be recruiting/annoying Angels in Heaven!"

"To Phil!" The group called out before diving into the meal. The mood turned lively as they all shared stories. Some where about Phil and their interactions with the always serious man. Others had nothing to do with Phil but had the group crying tears as they laughed themselves silly. They had all decided that Fury was partially right: Coulson would not have wanted them to mourn his death. He would have wanted them to live, to laugh, and to be merry. Phil had died working to stop Loki and they had completed the job...the world was there because of him and they would not waste any time feeling down.

It was a night of revelations and surprises, especially when the booze was passed around (Martha had even managed to convince straight-laced Alexis to have one glass of wine). Tony had nearly choked on a piece of fish when Steve had began to regale them with war stories that were light on blood and heavy on laughter. It seemed the Captain did have a sense of humor...it just took the right mood to bring it out.

Martha took up the lectern and told them stories about Fury and SHIELD that had everyone wondering if they were going to be bombed to prevent the tales from getting out. Castle and Beckett were like a 1950s comedy duo, trading banter and quips with ease...Tony soon found him and Pepper competed with the other couple to see who could outdo the other and half way through dinner Pepper was setting up the plans for a double date.

As the sky grew darker and the food grew scarce the remaining members of The Avengers and their loved ones settled in the living room, passing along a bottle of wine and engaging in idle chit chat.

"So, now that you aren't a Capsicle...what are your plans?" Tony asked.

Steve (the only one other than Alexis not drunk, due to his physical makeup) smiled slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, I was going to travel the country, but I think I am going to stick around New York for a bit. It is my home and I want to help it get cleaned up. Besides, it would probably be better for me to get use to a city I know before taking on the country."

Castle sat up, though it took a few tries. "Listen...if you ever need any help, or just want to see a friendly face, stop by my loft. Door is always opened...just knock in case..." He waggled his eyebrows at Beckett, who slapped him on the shoulder and blushed. "As for me...I need to get back to work. I got my new Nikki Heat novel done, but now that my muse is not a detective..."

"You better not think of finding another woman to get inspiration from, Rick!" Beckett stated with a devious smile.

"Of course not, Kate." Castle shrugged. "The Kid has been begging for me and Temperance to do some with him...maybe I'll take him up on that."

"Assuming the poor boy takes a moment away from stealing things from the Pope and actually writes something," Martha said.

Beckett frowned. "I need to find an apartment...mine got totaled by one of those Space Whales."

"I'm pretty sure it was the one Tony killed," Castle said.

"Hey!" Tony said. "That's not nice, pinning stuff on me! I'll have you know I am very careful to avoid collateral damage when i fight my bad guys." Pepper sniggered, Tony glaring at her. "You were the one that destroyed my office building, not me!"

"You told me too!"

"But you still pushed the button!"

"And the Stark Expo?" Pepper challenged.

"I blame Rhodey."

"You always blame Rhodey!"

"Why do you think I keep him around? Not for his good looks, I'll tell you! He can't pull off the short shorts and tube top like you can, Pepper." Tony pursed his lips. "Ok, maybe he can, but still-"

"I think I'm going to need to bleach my brain."

"Why do you need another apartment?" Castle asked, sliding closer to Kate. "Why don't you just move in with me."

"Huh?" Beckett asked, the booze clearly dulling her senses.

Castle gave her a goofy grin. "I'll let ya play with all my toys!"

Beckett laughed. "I don't believe that for a second…" She leaned in, giving Castle a sloopy kiss.

Alexis scrunched up her nose. "I'm going to go get some fresh air."

"I'll join you," Steve said, noticing that Tony and Pepper were now trading playful insults and Martha was clearly undressing him with her eyes. "So, know any good places to get a bite to eat in New York? I'm getting tired of the stuff SHIELD keeps sending me…"

~MC~MC~MC~

_Richard Castle's Loft- May 29th, 2012_

"I think my hangover…has a hangover…"

Martha rolled her eyes. "I don't know what you are complaining about, dear. I drank more than you and I am fine!"

Castle glared at his mother. "Fine is not the term I would use for you."

"I think Captain Rogers through I was rather fine…"

Beckett rubbed her eyes before slipping her sunglasses back on. "Martha…could we please talk about this after the world stops spinning?"

Alexis scoffed, getting out her keys. She had awoken that morning to discover her father and Beckett passed out in the living room surrounded by a sea of beer bottles. Shaking them awake and avoiding the vomit that leaked from their lips, she had told them to get washed up and get ready as they needed to get going; they were infact the last ones to leave, as Steve had wanted to get an early start and Tony and Pepper had been picked up by Stark's helicopter an hour ago.

Of course, Alexis had discovered that the adults were suffering from the affects of a hangover, and thus she had been forced not only to load up the car but get the adults into said car and then DRIVE said car back to New York, which proved to be very tricky, since the cleanup of the city was still taking place and what should have been a simple direct route turned into her taking 15 detours to avoid debris, space whales and her father's gigantic footprints. It didn't help that every bump causing her father and Kate to cry out in pain and whine like infants.

"You do realize you how much you owe me, right?" Alexis said, glancing over at her father who was pressing the heels of his hands into his temples. "I mean I had to do all the heavy lifting, all the driving, you almost threw up on me…"

"I think the Pym Particles are making my brain grow," Castle moaned.

"And when we add that onto to all the wonderful little things you hid from me about yourself, like your real name, my real name, the fact that you can shrink, the fact my mother could shrink…" Alexis waved her hand about as she opened the door. "You owe me a new car, those shoes I was drooling over last month and a pair of sunglasses."

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!"

Castle flung his hands up in a panic. "Angry black lady!"

Lanie Parish stormed out of Castle's loft, jabbing her finger into his chest. "I have not heard from any of you in two weeks! I got one text message saying you were ok, you'd call later! I went to Kate's place and found it totaled and came here and found it deserted! Where the hell were you…and why are you holding each other's hands?"

Beckett and Castle looked at their grasped hands, then back at Lanie. "Uh…"

Lanie grabbed them and dragged the couple inside. "Answers, now. Oh, and I drank all your beer and used your credit card to buy pizza….for five nights straight."

"How long have you been staying here waiting for us?" Beckett asked.

"How the hell did you get in?" Castle asked.

Lanie shook her head. "Nuh uh, my questions get answered first, sneaky sneaks."

Beckett groaned…this was going to be a long day.


	2. Chapter 2

_Richard Castle's Loft- May 29th, 2012_

"How the hell did you eat so much?"

Lanie rolled her eyes. "My eating habits are none of your concern."

Castle gestured madly at the tower of pizza boxes stacked in one corner of the kitchen. "Dear God, it looks like you were trying to feed the New York Jets!" He let out a shriek when he saw just how many beer bottles were hidden by said pizza boxes.

Lanie tapped her foot, not in the mood for his antics. "We are not here to discuss pizza. We are to discuss the two lovebirds that came bouncing in here without a call or a 'we're boinking' telegram."

"…do they even make tele-"

"Castle…" Kate said coolly, motioning for him to sit down and be quiet before he had Lanie leaping up to throttle him. "It's a long story, Lanie."

"I have plenty of time." She sat down on Castle's favorite chair, her ankles crossed and hands folded in her lap. "So why don't you tell me what you two have been up to since everything went insane."

Castle rubbed the back of his neck. "Would you believe that I am really one of the superheroes that saved New York and Beckett and I have been being debriefed by a secret government agency while she recovered from being caught in an alien explosion?"

Lanie glanced over at Beckett. "I am gonna smack him. You know that, right?"

~MC~MC~MC~

_Tony Stark's Penthouse- May 29th, 2012_

Tony Stark entered his penthouse apartment, zeroing in on Pepper. She had changed out of her semi-casual wear and gone with her 'only when you are around' wear, which consisted of a flannel shirt tied just under her breasts that showed off her flat tummy, a pair of short-shorts that left almost nothing to the imagination and nothing else. Her bare feet were curled up underneath her as she sat out the loveseat and the sight normally would have had Tony's mouth watering.

The reason it wasn't this time was because Pepper had clearly been crying, staring at a framed photo. It was one he knew all too well: after the incident Vanko, Coulson had returned one last time to check in before heading to the arctic to retreave the Capsicle. Tony had managed to trick him into stand beside himself and Pepper and he'd given the SHIELD agent bunny ears as Dummy snapped a shot of them.

Tony walked over, taking the glass from Pepper's hand and giving her a glass of scotch instead.

"Tony..." she said softly, reaching for the photo.

"Nope, don't think so. You have been crying enough. It isn't good for you, you know? Dries you out and leaves you without your vital liquids. Now drink." Pepper just stared at him as he went to the mini fridge and pulled out one of the green smoothies he'd been taking last year to try and save his life; while they had tasted horrible when he started he'd found that he'd developed a desire for them, from time to time. "Don't give me that look...these are pretty good, now that I have that new core in my chest. Makes them taste like a banana smoothie...or what a banana smoothie use to taste like...bananas now taste like bacon fried in peanut butter."

Pepper couldn't even manage a smile. "I can't believe he is gone."

"I know it's sad, but don't you think he would have wanted you to move on?"

The look of disgust that crossed Pepper's face showed that his answer had not been the right one. "How can you be so dismissive? He was a friend, Tony."

"Wow, we have really change the definition of friend here...kidding...listen..." he reached over, touching her bare knee. "I'm sorry, but I don't mourn the way you do."

"Yeah...you drown yourself in vodka and hookers."

Tony leveled her with a dark look. "Cute. No...I don't see people's deaths as a reason to mourn. You know what they are, Pepper? They are reasons to go on, to be better." He began to tick off his explains. "When my mom and dad died I went and built my first robotic helper. Big achievement...yeah, it was Dummy, but still...you know why I became Iron Man?"

Pepper was surprised by the change of conversation. "To escape that terrorist group..."

"No, that is why I made the armor. I became Iron Man because this guy, Yinsen, believed that I could be more. He died so that I could live. He died so Iron Man could live." Tony leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "Death should be the pole upon which you hoist your flag, or some poetic garbage like that."

Pepper had rarely seen Tony like this and knew that, except for a handful of people, a couple of which were dead, this was side of himself he never showed. All the glib remarks and comebacks had been pealed away to reveal a weary soul, burdened by knowledge and duty to the point of breaking. She wanted to hold him close, to comfort him, but she knew he would never allow her to do that and any attempt to do so would result in him closing himself off with a joke and a wink.

Instead, she merely asked, "So what will you do in Phil's name?"

Tony looked at her while keeping his head lulled, which served to give him a comical appearance. "Besides save the world and beat back an insane Norse god? Haven't given it any thought yet. Give me a few days, though, and I should be able to come up with something."

~MC~MC~MC~

_Richard Castle's Loft- May 29th, 2012_

"Can we never do that again?" Castle asked as he slipped under the thin sheet. The attack on New York had left many section without power and Castle's building was running without AC to try and help ease the burden on the power grid. He'd promised Beckett that he would try using some of his genius know-how to get their AC running purely on solar energy. The gleam in her eye as he had informed her that he was sure he could do it warned of many Honey-Do projects in his future.

"Well, other than Lanie, we really don't know anyone else we need to tell." They'd spent 5 hours being grilled by Lanie, first getting her to believe that Castle was the giant that had helped the Avengers, then having their new love-life dissected by the ME. Lanie Parish had been as vicious as Jack the Ripper and had cut through the crap and bullshit with ease.

"What about your dad?" Castle asked.

Beckett groaned. "I don't know what will be worse: telling him I'm unemployed or telling him my boyfriend can become a giant." She looked over at him, focusing on his shadow-covered face. "Am I the only one that thinks 'boyfriend' sounds so lame?"

"You'd prefer something else? Lovers?" Beckett crinkled her nose in disgust. "Yeah, Liz Lemon was right, Lovers should only be used between Meat and Pizza. Hmmm…" Castle stretched out, one arm under his head the other lazily tracing random patterns upon Beckett's back. "Do we even need labels? We've kinda broken every one there is."

"Good point."

"Maybe we'll make up new ones and people will use them to describe themselves!"

Beckett snuggled against him, not caring how hot it was. She just wanted to feel his skin against herself, his warmth joining with the heat that radiated off her body.

As the two of them drifted to sleep, neither noticed that behind Beckett's eyelids a blue light began to glow…


	3. Chapter 3

thank you all for the reviews, and now on with the story!

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Tony Stark's Penthouse- May 30th, 2012

Pepper Potts awoke to find the opposite side of the bed empty. This wasn't such a surprise, as she had long gotten use to Tony and his odd sleep schedule. Every since she had known him he had always functioned on his own clock, sometimes not going to bed for days on end then sleeping for 24 hours straight. The arc reactor in his chest had only made things worse, as the energy running through his body seemed to affect his nerves and left him with the ability to sleep less and less each month.

Slipping on the cream robe that hung on a chair near her makeup mirror, Pepper made her way out of the bedroom only to let out a curse as her toe came in contact with a hard piece of metal.

"Careful there," Tony said, not looking up from where he sat. He had placed himself in the center of the living room, bits of machinery lying all around him. She recognized some of them as being pieces of his armor and others were inventions he had worked on. Most, however, were completely new and looked like he had raided the Pentagon or NASA. "Listen, watch where you step, ok? A lot of this stuff is pretty expensive and I can't exactly get spare part if you go smashing it with those big feet of yours, as then certain undesirable groups will know I stole them."

"Big feet?" Pepper asked, tapping one of said feet against the hardwood floor.

"Knew that would be the thing you focused on," Tony said, reaching down and attempting to get a piece that looked like a shower head to attach to a headphones-looking thing. "I called for breakfast. Hope you like fast food, as that is one of the only things open. I'm surprised New York is still standing, what with a lack of bagels."

"What are you doing?" Pepper asked, making her way towards her boss/boyfriend and nudging him in the side with one of the feet he had so cruelly mocked.

"I am, uh, working on your replacement."

"...I want you to think long and hard about your next comment."

"You see-"

"Because you've already said I have huge feet and now you are making a robot girlfriend."

Tony glanced up at her, giving her wide, puppy dog eyes. "First off, I said they were big, not huge. Second, I love them as much as I love any other part of you. Third, what I mean is that I am working on a new assistant."

"Ok, still not getting what you are trying to say."

Tony grabbed a screwdriver and began tightening bits on the piece he was working on. "Well, I realized that everyone I trust ends up lying to me. Obie tried to kill me, Natalie was an assassin, Rhodey said he would bring coffee during our last meeting and he forgot..." Tony wiped his brow. "I mean, I even lie to myself. The only person I can trust is you. And since I can't have you being my gopher and my girlifrend, I decided to build Pepper Jr."

"Pepper Jr.?" Pepper asked.

"She'll have your eyes," Tony said with a straight face.

"...Tony, please find something else to use your time and effort on."

Tony watched as his girlfriend headed to the kitchen before leaning down, patting his invention on the head. "Don't worry, Pepper Sr. loves you very much."

~MC~MC~M~

_Near Times Square- May 30th, 2012_

Wisps of conversations from the past swirled all around Cap. Steve Rogers.

_"I got beat up behind that alley...and behind that store..."_

The store was long gone, having been knocked down to put up some new clothing store that, in its need for space, had grown to consume the alley, leaving just seamless stone walls.

So many places he had known were gone, victims to the relentless march of time. During his time in Europe he had held onto the memories he'd made in New York, using them as motivation to get home alive. He thought back to some of the conversations he'd had with British and French soldiers, who lamented that the country they were returning home to at the end of the war would not be the same, even if they did win. England had been bombed and France occupied, leaving scars that would take years to heal. Steve had pitied them and hoped that, by doing his part, he would ensure that New York would not face the same sort of thing.

It hadn't, but Steve was still forced to deal with a city that he no longer could call home. There was a history about it that all of them that dwelled there shared, save him. He'd watched several videos that Richard Castle had made for him, to try and get him up to speed: The Yankees becoming the superpower while the Mets had become a joke...and his beloved Dodgers were an LA team (?); mayors who had come and gone, with varying levels of success and corruption; the decaying of Times Square and the effort to clean it back up; Son of Sam and racial tensions; epic speeches and great falls; the rise of the Towers and their destruction (which proved to Steve that this world did need someone like him).

His home town was a ghost, a phantom lost to the ides of time; replaced by some strange leviathan.

Of course, as he looked about the shattered buildings and torn up streets, Steve realized that for many their New York was also gone. Loki and the invaders had seen to that, and even with victory the cost had been great. Some, even after nearly a month after the devastation, still moved about in a daze. Others had become consumed by anger or sadness, allowing the crimes of the past to rule them.

But others, Steve was pleased to see, were rolling up their sleeves and getting to work.

He'd found the flyer in the lobby of his apartment building. It had proclaimed in big printed letters that people were going to begin working to clean up New York and were not going to stop just because the cameras were no longer on them. Steve had found himself desiring something to keep him busy and decided that a bit of hard work was just the cure.

The group putting on the clean-up was using a former Chinese restaurant as their staging grounds, with several teen girls (wearing too little clothing in Steve's opinion) calling out for passerbys to either come and help or donate a little to help out relief efforts. Steve, once he had let them know he wanted to work with them, was wisked inside.

He quickly found himself growing nervous. Yes, there were many people his age or a few years older mulling around but for the most part those that were running the show were around 18 years old. For a man that was technically over 90 years old, it was enough to make him cringe and feel like he should have just stayed at home, even if he was in the body of a 25 year old.

"Captain Rogers?" Steve turned, forcing himself not to salute. Luckily, the voice that had called to him was not filled with stern authority but youthful energy. "I'm sorry, I guess I should call you Steve."

"That's correct, Alexis, or I'll call you Miss Castle." Steve smiled, shaking hands with Ant-Man's daughter and felt more at ease. The young woman had impressed him over the last few weeks after their conversation at the SHIELD base. From what brief glances he'd managed to get of her, she had appeared mature beyond her years and able to handle herself with such skill that he had to remind himself that she wasn't a soldier. She showed more control that many of the Avengers, which said alot about his team mates and the young woman. She reminded him of Peggy, but the memory didn't hurt, which was startling.

"So, you want to help?" Alexis asked.

"Well, it's either that or brood in my apartment."

Alexis smirked. "Well, let me show you around."

Steve nodded, all his tensions easing away.


	4. Chapter 4

thank you all for the reviews, and without any more wait, the next chapter!

* * *

The 53rd Precinct- 11:30 am

Detective Kevin Ryan sat at his desk, chewing on his peanut butter sandwich and watching the buzz of the bullpen as officers came and went. It was so much like the 12th that it would have been easily for him to pretend nothing had changed and he was still at his old desk, puzzling over some strange murder while taking a working lunch.

The problem was that it wasn't the 12th; his precinct had been reduced to a hollow shell by the invaders. The city had no idea when they would get around to fixing it and Ryan knew that even when they did it would be completely different. Apparently someone in the government (Ryan's money was on Castle whispering in his mother's ear) had found funds to totally redo the NYPD, to bring them into the 21st century. Already the new officers were abuzz, wondering why they couldn't have their new toys now, while the old timers grumbled about machines trying to replace them.

Even if the 12th remained the same right down to that one chair in the conference room that always wobbled to the left, it wouldn't be the same. Ryan had seen two of his captains die in two years: Montgomery going out in a blaze of redemption, while 'Iron' Gates had been felled by an alien pot shot while she was in mid-rant. Beckett had quit before any of the madness had started. Castle would be nice to the police, sure, but he had stayed because of Beckett and with her firmly now off the team he would not come jumping into cases any time soon.

And then there was Esposito.

Ryan didn't want to think about Esposito.

That's why he was having lunch alone: half the officers wanted to hear war stories about how he had helped the Avengers, while the other group were looking at him like he was Judas for betraying his partner to the higher-ups.

To steal a word from Castle...it sucked.

His phone rang and Ryan quickly grabbed his can of Coke and took a swig, washing down the sticky mouthful of bread and peanut butter. "Ryan."

"Go down to evidence. This is not request."

The phone clicked dead and Ryan left every muscle in his body tense. He wondered just who wanted him down there and why. It could be SHIELD, but he honestly didn't know who among them would want to speak personally with him. It could be a trap set by some officers looking for their pound of flesh, but they would have been more slick, waiting till he was heading home.

Ryan placed his hand on the butt of his service piece, feeling it fill him with reassurance as he walked down the 2 flights of stairs to get to evidence.

"About time," a tall man said, arms crossed over his chest. His face had been hardened by years of tough living and his eyes spoke of frustration and pain that could never be chased away. He stepped beside Ryan and grabbed him by the arm, leading him away from Evidence and half dragging him to the doors. "We are going to be late."

"What are you talking about?" Ryan asked, fighting off the panic that was rising in his stomach.

"Your actions during the invasion caught the attention of some very important people." He man led him down a hallway and even though the lights weren't turned on he knew just which door to go to. "There are people like myself who realize that we live in a different world now and we must adapt if we want to survive."

Ryan was shoved into the room, startled to find it empty save for a simple wooden table, a desk lamp that looked like it was from the 1950s and several plain folders.

No...that wasn't all that was in the room.

There was one more thing...one more person.

"What the hell?" Javier Esposito snarled, glaring at Ryan. "You didn't-"

"Shut it, Detective," the tall man snapped, his tone so crisp that the two detectives had no choice but head his unsaid warning. "The moment you entered this room your old grudges died." Before Esposito could say a word the tall man jabbed his finger at him. "I read the report; you'd have died if Det. Ryan hadn't saved your ass. You can bitch and complain about him betraying you but you, Detective, betrayed your oath and your duty by not going by the book." The tall man took a seat, pulling out a folder and looking it over. "You were a solider...but somewhere along the way you forgot how to follow orders and the chain of command. I am here to correct that."

Esposito had the decency to look down, jaw working as he considered the man's words.

"What do you want from us?" Ryan asked simply, mulling over the man's comments as well.

"There are those in this city that would be happy to let the likes of Tony Stark protect us. I am not one of those people. I believe that we need to protect ourselves. But we can't...we aren't designed to do that...yet." He leaned forward, his shock of blonde hair seeming to be on fire in the light of the lamp. "Detectives, I am organizing a task force, one that will work to stop things like the Hulk and the Invansion before they happen. You two stood tall during the attack and I want you in the lead."

Esposito puffed up a bit, his earlier ego-blow forgotten at the promotion that was being dangled in front of him. "Sir, I would be honored."

Ryan, however, wasn't so quick to jump on board. "Sir, I have to respectfully decline. I have met Captain America and several of The Avengers and I can not-"

"I'm not talking about rounding them up," the tall man said. "I want to stop them from worming their way deeper into our society. Let them take on the wars...we will police ourselves. I don't want any of them thinking they can become vigilantes...and the only way we can prevent that is creating this task force."

Ryan looked at Esposito. Maybe it was the slight eye roll, the one that spoke of the man's believe that Ryan would once again turn against him, that made him decide to take the tall man's hand and shake it.

"Glad to have you two on board. I have your first assignment." He passed them each a folder. "I want to build up our team and there is one detective I have in mind. Your former captain didn't handle her right, but I think under MY guidance she will be a perfect ally."

Ryan and Esposito opened the folders and stared at the photos of Kate Beckett.

~MC~MC~MC~

Central Park- 12:15 pm

"So, anything on the Twitter feed on him?" One of the volunteers asked, reaching down and snagging a broken tree branch and carrying it to the wheelbarrow Steve was standing next too.

Alexis had told him that the plan was for them to clean up Central Park, her reasoning being that at least with the park people would have a place to escape from the reality of the city for a few hours. The park hadn't see much damage, other than some felled trees, a few broken benches, a shattered fountain and a heel print from Ant-Man when he had taken one of the invader's space-whales to the side of the head.

Steve had proven to be a big help. He had been able to help the teens move trees that would normally have taken 3 times their numbers to drag off. Now he was on barrow duty, the members of his group believing that he needed a break even though he felt ready for more.

It was actually a rather nice day: the sun was out, warming his arms and giving him the beginning of a tan (the thing about being frozen is you ended up white as a ghost) and the breeze that came from the east helped pluck away the beads of sweat that naturally came from hard work.

"Nah, nothin' at all," a girl with a lip ring muttered. "You'd think after stealing the pope's hat the guy would pop up..."

It would have been nice if he understood a word any of the members of his group said.

This was worse than Germany. Atleast there the Nazis had the decency to scream at him in English (Steve's brow crinkled as he thought about that...why would the Red Skull teach all his men English? He couldn't remember any of them ever yelling in German...).

He'd figured out real quickly to keep his lack of knowledge a secret.

"Yo Steve, tell Derek its ok for a guy to watch Kardashians!"

"Sure," Steve grunted, trying to look as bored as possible.

"Told ya!" The teens turns away from him, leaving him alone once more.

He reached down to grab a twig that had fallen from the wheelbarrow when all their cellphones went off. Steve reached into his pocket, thankful that Alexis had taken a few minutes to reteach him how to use the silly thing, and read the message.

"Bosses say it is break time." Derek said. "Steve, you want to get a burger?"

Steve waved them off. "Sorry, looks like Alexis wants me to join her."

Barry, the Kardashian fan, ran his tongue along the back of his teeth. "I tell ya, that Alexis is one tasty dish..."

Steve let out a little snarl, snapping the handle of the wheelbarrow.

"Holy crap!" Tina (aka Lip Ring Girl) shouted.

"Dude, sorry!" Barry said quickly, eyes wide.

Steve merely looked at the handle, dumbfounded. He didn't understand why he had reacted like that and finally decided it was merely his 'old fashion ways'. Tossing the handle into with the tree branches and muttering something about termites, he made his way back to the front of the park, ignoring the comments his team made in his wake.


End file.
